Nicole Bearden, Seattle Rep Communications Manager: What first drew you to this play? What made this an exciting choice for you, in particular, to direct?

Allison Narver, Mary Jane Director: What first drew me to Mary Jane is its radical Amy Herzog has written a play about circumstances that could easily be overwhelming or sentimental, but instead she focuses on presence, humor, and the small, human moments that get people through impossible days. I was deeply moved by the way the play honors caregivers—not as saints or martyrs, but as complex, funny, exhausted, generous people.

Many of us have had the experience of caring for someone we deeply love. These experiences, though widely varied, have the potential to transform us profoundly. I had the privilege of caring for my husband before he died of very aggressive cancer, and that experience taught me more about love than anything I’ve ever known. During that time, I was constantly reminded that love is a verb and not just a feeling—caring about someone is different than caring for them. This play embodies that idea as clearly as anything I’ve ever encountered

As a director, I love stories that ask the audience to lean in rather than sit back. Mary Jane is quiet but not small. It asks us to pay attention to breath, to listening, to what’s not said. That kind of storytelling feels theatrical in a very pure way, and it’s a gift to build a world where compassion and connection are the central dramatic forces.

^{Mary Jane Director Allison Narver and cast members Brenda Joyner and Amy Thone in rehearsals at Seattle Rep. Photo by Sayed Alamy.} 

NB: Mary Jane deals with serious subjects, but the play itself doesn’t fall into the trap of being heavy and sad. As a director, how are you approaching the staging to highlight the hope?

AN: For me, the hope in Mary Jane lives in community and in the present moment. The play doesn’t deny pain, but it also doesn’t allow pain to be the only story in the room. In staging, I’m focusing on warmth, light, and proximity. The spaces feel lived-in and human rather than bleak or clinical, and the actors are almost always in a state of active care—making tea, adjusting a blanket, sharing food, offering a chair.

Rhythm is also crucial. Herzog’s dialogue has an everyday musicality with humor tucked into unexpected places. By honoring that rhythm and allowing the absurd or funny moments to land naturally, we remind the audience that joy and grief often sit side by side. Hope in this production isn’t something we paste on top—it emerges from watching people show up for each other again and again.

^{Cast members Shaunyce Omar and Brenda Joyner in Mary Jane rehearsals at Seattle Rep. Photo by Sayed Alamy.} 

NB: You’ve spoken before about how Mary Jane occasionally weaves elements of magical realism into a story grounded in real-life experiences. How do you balance those heightened moments with such realism (or naturalism?) on stage?

AN: We’re using subtle changes in lighting and soundscape to suggest moments when the ordinary rules of time and space loosen a bit. Because the play is so grounded, those small departures from realism feel profound. The design and performances shift almost imperceptibly, and our intention is that the audience will feel a widening of the world instead of a break from it. The magic comes from attention, from breath, from allowing the audience to sit in mystery without having to explain it.

NB: What has surprised you the most while working on this production? How has it differed from other plays that you have directed?

AN: This is different from other plays I’ve directed because the dramatic stakes are internal rather than plot-driven. There are no big twists or explosive confrontations. The tension comes from endurance, from uncertainty, from love that doesn’t fix everything but refuses to disappear. That requires a different kind of precision—one rooted in listening and trust rather than spectacle.

I worried at first that the subject matter might just make me feel sad and although the play is deeply moving, the opposite is true. Yes, Mary Jane’s exhausted and often feels overwhelmed, but the play continually returns to the joy she finds in her life with Alex, how much she loves him, how proud she is and how delighted she is by him.

NB: What would you like audiences to know before they see this show?

AN: I’d love audiences to know that they don’t have to brace themselves. While Mary Jane deals with serious realities, it’s also full of warmth, humor, and unexpected lightness. It’s a play about care, about the strangers and near-strangers who carry us when we can’t carry ourselves.

Most of all, it’s an invitation to slow down and be present. If audiences allow themselves to sit with the quiet, I think they’ll leave feeling not drained, but connected—to the characters, to each other, and maybe to people in their own lives whose quiet strength often goes unseen.

Hear more in this short excerpt from an interview with Seattle Rep:

Experience the "warmth, humor, and unexpected lightness" of Mary Jane for yourself. Playing March 19–April 19.

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